The Beach Boys - Carl & The Passions - So Tough / Holland

If the uneven Sunflower and Surf's Up albums demonstrated the Beach Boys resolve to soldier on despite the largely AWOL status of Brian Wilson, their founder and troubled creative mainstay, 1972's So Tough showed how quickly their own disparate instincts could lead to a creative face-plant. Though not nearly the train-wreck its dismal reputation might lead one to believe (its original distributor thought so little of the project that it was packaged as a two-fer with a reissue of Pet Sounds). The album's R&B/gospel sensibilities seem woefully misplaced, while "Marcella" shows just how willing the band was to beat a hasty retreat into comfortable nostalgia. The good news was that Tough was only eight tracks long. Given that background, 1973's Holland seemed like a minor miracle. Possessed of a melodic sense and muscular musicality that the faithful must have given up for dead, the great "Sail On Sailor" leads the way to one of the band's best post-'60s efforts. Bolstered by new bandmates Blondie Chaplin and Ricky Fataar (the latter would become a cult hero as a member of the Beatles-parodying Rutles) and a change of recording venue (hence the title), the Beach Boys attacked Carl Wilson's "Trader," Dennis Wilson's "Steamboat," and other group standouts like "Funky Pretty" and "Leaving This Town" with a vigor and self-assurance they hadn't shown in years. It even overcomes Mike Love's ham-fisted attempt at eco-awareness, the musical triptych "California Saga," and the strange, spoken-word children's tale "Mt. Vernon and Fairway," highlighted only by Brian Wilson's fleeting presence. Both albums are newly remastered on two discs. --Jerry McCulley Amazon.com

Transcending everything

No. This doesn't sound like standard Beach Boys music. This is a musically varied affair. It's got rock 'n' roll, R&B, progressive rock, jazzy moments, a ton of keyboards/synths, and spiritual lyrics. They sort of took the concepts and sounds of Feel Flows and spread them out over a number of songs... This pair of albums has a good amount of great material that didn't get an enormous amount of airplay. Many Beach Boys recordings can be considered timeless, but these songs practically sound NEW. So fresh... Some excellent production graces faves like Marcella and Sail on Sailor. Marcella has a now is retro vibe drenched in reverb... the instruments and vocals are gritty, smoothe, soulful, and rockin' all at once resting on a bed of great guitars and moving to the support of a great and slightly tempo shifting drum beat. Listen to it ASAP. Sail On Sailor has great soulful vocals, a great beat, harmonic background vocals galore, neat guitar, and inspiring lyrics with a reassuring chorus... It sounds retro, modern for it's time, and fresh for contemporary listening. Trader has a fantastic Carl Wilson vocal, background vocals worthy of any great Elton John recording, with keyboards driving the song at a good tempo... The second half of this song is FANTASTIC-A Transcendant prayer that transcends the song itself and leaves you feeling so calm inside. AMAZING! All This Is That is thoroughly transcendant... it transcends transcendental meditation! Great group and lead Vocals. Carl's are the best, of course... Very beautiful and gentle... even a bit soulful. Fantastic Falsetto during the chant that goes to the fade out. Mike's lead vocals are actually beautiful and kinda sexy in a way (i'm a straight guy admitting this), but you can detect that "hipness" thing that plagues too many of his vocals in its delivery. Funky Pretty is mesmerizing. I could imagine Stevie Wonder diggin' it... Great lead vocals from Carl, Blondie, All, and Mike. The song is all soul and synthesizers, baby... with some awesome astrological verses. All of these elements make the tune far out and funky even for today! Leaving This Town is a fantastic song, despite it's downer lyrics... Fantastic lead vocals give the lyrics meaning... The piano is fantastic... The song has this Traffic thing going for it during the instrumental section with a somehwhat free form synth solo and Low Spark percussion. This section adds an interesting progressive jazz-rock element to the Beach Boys usual musical and vocal stylings. You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone is a bit country rock in a Stones, Faces, or even Big Star way. A fun tune for sure... Fun vocals, fun lyrics... making it thoroughly Beach Boys. Interesting bridge, too... check it out, listen to it. California Saga (On my way to sunny etc.) has a great moog bass line, catchy vocals from Mike, and some more traditional Beach Boys harmonies and vocals. The lyrics are epic in a way, but the overall production with the instrumentals, vocals, and definitive Beach Boys sound should've made it a hit. Steamboat has a bunch of interesting elements in it. The beat is a bit robotic, as someone pointed out before, the keys "float" along the river stream, Carl's vocals are soulful and old timey in a very Band way, the background vocals have an older than doo wop feel while maintaining the doo wop style. For me, i guess the song has a bit of a dreamy vibe. It's relaxing to listen to, despite the mechanical drum beat and a guitar solo that sounds a bit similar to the solo in It's Over by badfinger. Only With You is a very tender and beautiful love song. Carl sang a beautiful lead, but a ragged Dennis vocal would've suited it much better and would've given it more heart. I love the production, though. Understated strings, tasteful keyboards, solid melodic bass, just the right amount of guitar. Here She Comes is a great song with some great bass playing. This one sounds like Traffic. It's a rock 'n' roll stew of jazzy and bluesy elements. Hippie lingo lyrics definitely make it sound like an early '70's track. The most Beach Boys thing about it would be is that the lyrics have a strong emotional premise. Go listen to these songs and the rest on the two albums! You may be in for some surprises. If you'd rather hear a more consistent take on a varied musical approach with more traditional Beach Boys elements, skip this and get Sunflower. Another fantastic album. We'll talk more about that one later. November 7, 2008

Good Price....Get It

This is a great set. I'm not sure why they put Holland and Carl and the Passions together, but it doesn't really matter.
The beautiful thing about Carl and the Passions is that the Beach Boys actually used some of Dennis Wilson's music. My favs are Make It Good and Cuddle Up.
Holland was certainly a different sound for the Beach Boys. If they had followed down that path, they may have become a Northern California band as well. Sail On Sailor was the hit here. Personally, I enjoyed Brian's fairytale at the end. With the origianl LP release, they included the fairytale as a 45 single. I remember not knowing at what speed to play it. It wasn't until I bought the CD set that I realized I had played it at too fast a speed for all those years. It actually sounded better sped-up. September 23, 2008

Pretty good stuff . . . from a forgotten but talented band

Long after their chart-topping heyday, the Boys settled into Life After Brian by patchworking together several generally sub-par 70's albums that were typically littered with isolated gems and way-out, freaky attempts at psychedelia.

This "twofer" is no different. "Carl & the Passions" is a decidedly mediocre work, but contains minor masterpieces of obscurity like the shimmering, haunting "All This is That", featuring the kind of vocal performance by Carl Wilson that only confirms him as one of rock's true angels. There are other tracks worth hearing - but they have gained most of their cache by virtue of hindsight and the way history now sees this seminal band.

A much stronger overall work, "Holland" is widely regarded (now) as one of the Beach Boys' best 70's albums. Panned upon it's release, it contains some of the non-Brian Boys' best contributions: The Trader (Carl Wilson); Leaving This Town (Blondie Chaplin) & Dennis Wilson's strange, Tom Waits-esque "Steamboat". The clincher, however, is the Brian Wilson-Van Dyke Parks-Tandyn Almer-Jack Riley gem, "Sail on Sailor". Ranking with the Beach Boys' absolute best work, this may truly be the Last Great Beach Boys Song. Without this track, Warners rejected the album; with it, the Beach Boys finally added a respectable addition to their canon - without Brian's dominant song writing, composing and producing.

Excellent sound and remastering, nice package. If you're a Beach Boys fan/completist, this is one you won't pass by. July 14, 2008

Good, Better, Best

Both albums are good in their own right. Together they form a great combo. Holland is ,imho, the best Beach Boys album after Pet Sounds. With great contributions of Carl & Dennis. April 27, 2008

Beach Boys: Carl and the Passions-So Tough / Holland

Whether or not you are a fan of the Beach Boys, this cd set, which includes the Holland cd, is a treasure you will enjoy.
Not only have these melodic songs been treated to a full remastering process thus delivering notes and voice with a remarkably clarity, but the songs and lyrics themselves deliver a feeling of true musicianship only a well heeled band can deliver.
Treat yourself to a set of songs that will find you smiling as you listen, either from fond rememberances or new found experience.
Enjoy. April 6, 2008

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